Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin on April had phone talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart Ruslan Kazakbayev, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
The two reportedly discussed issues related to the latest shootout that occurred along Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan on April 12.
Condemning the actions of Kyrgyz border guards in the latest clashes along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, top Tajik diplomat reportedly demanded an objective investigation into the incident and that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
The two reportedly also exchanged views on topical issues of the Tajik-Kyrgyz cooperation and preparations a session of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers scheduled for May 13 and a meeting of the Central Asian interior ministers.
The latest shootout along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border took place Tuesday (April 12) evening.
27-year-old Tajik border guard Zoir Saidumarov was seriously wounded in the shootout. Saidumarov died shortly after surgery the same day and was buried in his native village of Mahrami Hotam in the Dousti district of the Khatlon province next day.
A Kyrgyz border guard and a Kyrgyz civilian were reportedly also wounded in that shootout.
Tajik-Kyrgyz talks on the situation ended Tuesday overnight with an agreement to withdraw additional armed forces from both sides.
It was agreed that the two sides' police will take joint control over the border segment crossing the Konibodom-Khujand highway. Special explanatory works will be held among locals residing close to the border area to ensure they are aware of the situation.
Almost half of the 970-kilometer Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border has yet to be demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two countries gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan meet.
